102 SNAKES 



the power of coiling themselves up like a watch- 

 spring and discharging themselves from a consider- 

 able distance at those whom they have doomed to 

 death — a fact which is attested by such passages in 

 the poets as — 



Like adder darting from his coil, 



and by travellers passim. 



This is the true faith with respect to all serpents, 

 and if you are resolved to remain steadfast in it, 

 you may do so even in India,nor it is possible to 

 live in that country for months, I might almost say 

 years, without ever getting a sight of a live snake 

 except in the basket of a snake-charmer. If, how- 

 ever, you are minded to cultivate an acquaintance 

 with them, it is not difficult to find opportunities 

 of doing so, but I must warn you that it will be 

 with jeopardy to your faith, for the very first thing 

 that will strike you about them will probably be 

 their cleanness. What has become of the classical 

 slime I cannot tell, but it is a fact that the skin of 

 a modern snake is always delightfully dry and 

 clean, and as smooth to the touch as velvet. 



The next thing that attracts attention is their 

 beauty, not so much the beauty of their colours as 

 of their forms. With few exceptions, snakes are the 

 most graceful of living things. Every position into 

 which they put themselves, and every motion of 

 their perfectly proportioned forms, is artistic. The 

 effect of this is enhanced by their gentleness and 

 the softness of their movements. 



